Destiny
by Myra the Sark
Summary: Post season-2, full summary inside. It seems as though Team Core-Tech isn't done saving the world yet, as Jeredy has found that the Monsuno Essence is still, albeit slowed greatly, burrowing into the planet's core. Some enemies have vanished without a trace. And the team soon finds that there's more to the Prophecy of the Five than anyone knows...
1. Prologue

**It was a nightmare getting that summary to fit, and even then, it's not the full thing.**

_**Fate works in strange ways, and no one knows that better than Team Core-Tech. Just when it seems they're done saving the world…the Monsuno Essence is still a threat, and Jeredy can't seem to find out why. Some very particular people are missing. And when Chase and Beyal are kidnapped, they find that their job saving the world isn't over yet. But how are dragons involved? And who are these "replacements" the dragons speak of?**_

* * *

There were six dragons in the storm.

The sky above them was a dark, dark gray—it was not yet dawn—and was tinged with violet. One, a dragoness with dark, dark violet scales, ivory horns and plates, and an arrow-shaped blade on her tail, growled, "Did we have to meet out here, in this weather?" The chain-links connecting the ornate rings around her tail rattled as said appendage lashed.

"A requirement, I'm afraid, Empress Nyrona," a crimson dragon with toxic-green horns and spikes grunted, his obsidian-alloy armor making scraping sounds as the plates brushed against each other when he looked around warily. "No one else will be out in this."  
"General Alistair is correct, m'lady," a black dragon added, putting his hands together, his bangles rattling faintly. "We cannot risk any others overhearing this conversation…or it shall put the whole plan into jeopardy!"

After a bit of silence, Nyrona growled, "Those _brats_' actions are unsatisfactory, Vaughn. They almost nullified the prophecy only yesterday! It was only because of the Council's intervention that it is still in play!"

"Aware of that, m'lady. But don't forget, there's always the alternate set. We will do whatever possible to make sure the prophecy comes true…or true-ish, anyhow."

"Of course," the purple dragon said. "Humans can be very unpredictable." Her tone was filled with disdain as she said "humans."

"We _are _talking about the false five, yes?" the fourth dragon, who had mustard-yellow scales and dark-blue horns, piped up.

"Yes, Osric," Vaughn said.

The fifth dragon, one with cool-gray scales and blue-white horns twitched her tail. "But, they're—not quite perfect."

"Hmm…" The dragon empress looked at the sky. "Worse than the originals?"

"Well…different. Otherwise they'd be plan-A," Osric said.

"All I want to know is if they'll do as they're told," Nyrona growled.

"Um…they might," the fifth dragon said meekly.

"Well, that does sound _somewhat_ promising, Elwyn," the empress said drily. "I'll have to meet them myself."

"Perhaps we can take the best options from each group," Alistair suggested. "Definitely _not _the original girl, though. We might be able to work with the monk."

"The boy descended from the Tribe of Nequea is worthless," the sixth dragon said, one with scales the color of dried blood and twisted white horns growled. "Biggest coward I've ever seen. And the leader needs to die—the others won't do anything without him, otherwise."

Alistair shook his head. "A shame. He has dragon blood, after all…and the Sight, even. A very powerful form of it."

Nyrona paused. "The Sight, you say?" she mused. "Perhaps he doesn't need to die after all, then." Her Mage-blue eyes gleamed. "I've been wanting my own oracle for a while now, and there hasn't been a dragonet born with the Sight in a long time now."

"Then we'll do that," Vaughn said. "I can send Saxon out, yes?" The blood-red dragon looked up at hearing his name.

"Well, he was the fastest dragon in the guard until—" Osric started, but broke off in a squeak when Saxon glared at him, eyes flashing dangerously.

"I can kidnap a human," he growled. "Easiest thing in the book."

"And while you're at it," Vaughn added. "Take the monk."

Saxon nodded, and spread his olive-green wings. He was airborne in moments, arcing away into the distance before vanishing in a spark of blue, crossing into the human realm.

Nyrona flicked her tail. "Those children need to know that they aren't as important as they think they are," she said. "Anyone can be replaced. And…there's more than one way to fulfill a prophecy, after all."

* * *

**People. _Reviews_. I really would like to upload the next chapter of _Sky_. ~Myra**


	2. Chapter I

"Any news?" Chase asked.

_"No,"_ Jon replied over the communicator. _"Nothing. Nothing at all."_

They had expected things to calm down after they defeated the Hand of Destiny. They stopped the Monsuno Essence from burrowing into the planet's core. Karma finally came around and Charlemagne was not only no longer in charge of STORM, but she'd also gotten herself arrested. Ticking off important people tends to get that to happen. And they had saved Chase's mother. It still felt like a dream. "Well, keep us updated," Chase said finally. Jon nodded, and the call was dropped.

Had things calmed down? For one day, yes. Then the base where Charlemagne was being held at suddenly was short a few people without warning—the ex-Commandant included.

"So, what do you guys think happened?" Bren asked.

The others gave shrugs. Dax changed the subject, saying, "It's nice that we get a break and all, but if you ask me, it's gotten way too boring."

"You've got a point there," Jinja admitted. "No STORM to worry about. Both Klipse and Professor Tallis are keeping their heads down—and the planet's not in trouble anymore."

Beyal, meanwhile, was looking up at the sky. "Beyal?" Chase asked. "What's wrong?"

The monk's eyes narrowed a bit before saying, "I do not believe that Fate has finished with us yet."

* * *

Saxon wanted to roar in frustration. It had taken him a week to locate the brats. And while he was waiting for the perfect moment, a whole month had passed!

All five of them were in a forest clearing below. The monk kept looking up at the sky, so the dragon had to put a concealing spell on himself. Thankfully those ones weren't too draining on his energy reserves. Everyone's magic had become so weak over the last few centuries…

* * *

He almost leapt mid-air when he heard Vaughn's voice in his head. _"What in the name of Amaries are you doing? It's been a month now!"_

"Be patient," the dark-red dragon growled. "An abduction has to be subtle."

_"Well, you better get them soon. Empress Nyrona is getting impatient. And you know what happens when she gets impatient."_

* * *

Jeredy was confounded. And worried. The five teens could tell just by listening to him saying, _"All five of you need to come to the lap, ASAP."_

"What's wrong dad?" Chase asked.

_"Ah…I'll tell you when you get here…"_ He dropped the call abruptly, and the others exchanged looks.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Jinja stated.

"Yeah…so do I," Chase agreed. He took out Evo's core. "We better get back."

* * *

The old Core-Tech lab in Melian City was officially back in business as of two weeks ago. The main room was vacant except for Jeredy, as it was Sunday—everyone's day off. "So what's the deal, doc?" Dax asked.

Jeredy clearly hesitated before saying, haltingly, "The frequency—it didn't work. Not fully."

"_What_?" Chase said, eyes widening.

The scientist nodded slowly. "That was my first reaction too, son. It was actually do days ago when I noticed the concentration of Monsuno Essence in the earth's core had increased slightly, but I thought it was a bug in the system." He sighed. "Apparently I was wrong."

"But—you did all sorts of scans the day we used the frequency," Bren stuttered. "It was all the same for the whole day!"

"Which leads to my theory." The scientist paused before adding, "I believe it may be an outside source controlling the Monsuno Essence now. What we don't know…is _what_, or _who_."

* * *

That night, Chase was out on the roof—which had quickly become a favorite spot for when he had to think things over. And right now, he had a kragton to think over. Who in their right mind would drive the Monsuno Essence to destroy the planet? Not even Klipse was that crazy!

Footsteps alerted him that someone had come up. "Chase? Is something wrong?" Beyal.

"Not really. I'm just-thinking." His friend didn't say anything, knowing exactly what he meant.

Then, without warning, a splitting pain hit his head, and a flurry of images crossed his mind: a volcanic island crisscrossed by deadly streams of lava on one side, and the other was what looked like a fortress of hardened lava. Then he saw what looked like a prison, and a small, white dragon with deep-green eyes seeming to regard him.

"You saw that as well?" Beyal asked.

"Yeah," Chase responded. "But what does it—?" He broke off in a startled cry as dark wings blotted out the stars.

Next thing he knew, he was unable to see or hear, but he could feel something gripping him firmly—something big. Not to mention he could feel wind whipping through his hair. They were fling, something taking the off to who-knows-where.

And for the first time in a while, he was actually scared.

* * *

Jinja first got the bad feeling when Chase and Beyal didn't come down from the roof. But when she went up and found them gone without a trace, they all knew they had a very big problem.

* * *

**The first few chapters are likely to be short and fact-paced, as I...don't really have any ideas for the start of this fic. Ideas are welcome. ~Myra  
**


	3. Chapter II

"Did the security cams get anything?" Dax asked.

"Checking them now," Jeredy replied. Beside him, Sophia looked beyond worried. That was how Jinja felt, honestly. She knew Bren did as well.

One the video feed, the two boys talked for a short while, and then seemed to freeze up—Jinja had a speculation that both of them had a vision at that moment.

And then…the video turned to static. All their breaths hitched.

When it cleared, Chase and Beyal were gone. Jeredy swore, surprising them. "Whoever took them pulled out all the stops," Bren muttered.

"And we don't know who it is," Sophia said worriedly. She had come running when she heard Chase had disappeared.

Jinja was only halfway listening to the conversation. All of everyone's shouting earlier had given her a headache…

Then everything she was seeing appeared to blur, and she found herself standing in a totally different room. It appeared to be carved in either marble, limestone, or both. A wall of iron bars crossed the room about three-quarters in, with no visible door. On the other side of the wall…was an actual, breathing _dragon_.

It was snowy-white in color, and smaller than she thought it would be. She immediately saw the gaping tears in its wings—injuries she knew meant that it could never fly again. It had a dulled, arrow-shaped blade on its tail, and its back was lined with ridges. It also had dark-green eyes.

The dragon looked at her, and said, "It is good to see you, Jinja." _That voice…!_

"Master Ey?" she asked, disbelieving.

"Yes. I can tell you are surprised."

"You're…a dragon."

"Yes."

For some reason, she wasn't as weirded-out as she thought she would be. "And—how are you…?"

"When One-Eyed Jack ordered his Monsuno to attack me, I was taken from that spot an instant before it could strike. I was able to send visions to all of you easily then, but now I can only reach those with the Sight."

The auburn-haired girl was about to say that she didn't have it, but suddenly remembered—she had been included in the large list of people whose vitality was being stolen by the Hand of Destiny.

Ergo, she had the Monsuno Sight. So she instead asked, "Where are you?"

The reply came: "In a different world."

* * *

"Hello! Jinja?" Bren waved his hand in front of said girl's face. No response—she kept staring blankly ahead.

"Is she unconscious or something?" Dax asked.

"No, I don't think she's unconscious," Jeredy said. "She wouldn't be standing otherwise."

"She just doesn't see us right now," Sophia said knowingly.

* * *

"A different dimension?" Jinja echoed.

"Yes," the old white dragon replied. "I also know that Chase and Beyal have been taken."

_So someone _did _kidnap them,_ she thought. "Do you know where they are?"

"I'm afraid not. But I do know someone who can help you find them."

* * *

"Guys?"

The other four paused and looked at Jinja, who had a weird look on her face. "What?" Dax asked.

"Would you believe me if I said Master Ey is alive?"

* * *

Everything was blurred when Chase opened his eyes. A roof of dark rock was overhead, with glowing marks. He blinked a few times, and exactly two seconds later, he realized he had no idea where he was.

Chase sat bolt-upright, looking around wildly. He seemed to be in a building of some kind. As it was very, _very _warm, he figured that he must be in a desert. _But who could make a building out of _black_ rock in a desert?_

The room was occupied by the bed he was sitting on, a mirror, and a dresser. Three seconds later he realized his cores were gone.

"Where the krag am I?" Chase asked himself. _I have to find Beyal, too._

The raven-haired teen jumped slightly when he heard a door open, and when he looked at the person who came in…well, he nearly had a heart-attack.

It was a woman with cool-gray hair and very-bright blue eyes, wearing what looked like a silver robe made from some unknown material, and wore sandals. What scared him was that she had _scales _that matched her hair framing her face, and said scales were also on her arms and legs. Not to mention she had black, sharp-looking claws on both her hands and feet.

"You're awake," she said. He barely managed to nod.

"Where am I?" he managed to ask, still staring.

"The island is called Crescent," the dragon person explained. Now that Chase looked, he saw that she had _wings _too—same blue-gray with purple-gray webbing.

"And wh-who are you?" He had almost said "what."

"My name is Elwyn. You're…Chase, right?" He nodded. Then she asked, "I suppose you're wondering why I have scales and wings."

"…yeah."

"I'll say it bluntly—I'm a dragon." There was a flash of purple-blue light, and when Chase could look again—there indeed was a dragon standing where Elwyn had been—was still. Same scales, same wings.

_Yeah, I'm dreaming,_ he thought. _Definitely dreaming…_

A faint tremor caused both of them to jump a little, and Elwyn said, "I probably should add—Crescent is a volcanic island.

"That explains the black rock," he muttered—it was actually hardened lava.

Most of him wanted to think this was a dream. Part of him knew otherwise.

* * *

When Beyal awoke, he was aware of a stifling heat. He also heard unfamiliar voices.

"Is he dead?" one asked.

"Saxon wouldn't've brought him here if he was," another said.

"I bet he'd wake up if I hit him," a third voice spoke.

"I bet Saxon would toss you into one of the volcanos if you did!" the second one retorted.

"I have an idea!" a fourth voice exclaimed.

_SPLASH!_

Beyal jolted up with a startled cry. "It worked!" the second voice cheered.

"Drat," the first one muttered. "I really thought he was dead."

The white-haired teen rubbed at his eyes, trying to clear away the stinging seawater that was in them. He was in a clearing of sorts—the ocean on one side, and a wall of black rock on all three others. A stairway of sorts led up to a large tunnel.

Beyal quickly saw why one of the voices had mentioned a volcano, and why it was so unbearably hot—there was a wide, sluggish river of lava flowing into the ocean with a large, constant cloud of steam rising from where it made contact. When his eyes traced the lava river, huge formations of black rock—_volcanic rock_—blocked his view. There was a single, twisted, ash-covered tree in the clearing with thick, leafless branches.

He turned his head a bit—and found the sources of the voices. Five unfamiliar faces were studying him, four of them unfriendly.

Beyal blinked slowly. Something was eerily familiar about them—four boys, one girl.

"Who are _you_?" one of the boys—short with black hair and amber eyes—asked.

"My name is Beyal," he responded, still confused.

"That's a weird name," another boy—he was of average height with dark-brown hair and dark-blue eyes—said.

"My name's Tobias," the smaller boy went on. "The guy who just insulted your name is Daniel, the redhead there is Lieam, and the tall-and-mean one is Ivan."

"What was that, shrimp?" the tallest boy, with black hair and dark eyes, growled. Tobias flinched away from him.

"And the weirdo there is Gwendolyn," the green-eyed freckled boy, Lieam, followed.

The girl, who had pale-brown hair and crystal-blue eyes, frowned. "Oh, that's really sweet Lieam," she said sarcastically. "You guys act like you don't appreciate me."

"We don't," Daniel said flatly.

Gwendolyn paused, seeming to listen, and then exclaimed "Saxon's coming!"

Immediately all five of them ran for a ledge marked with five, evenly-spaced indentations in one of the ledges, heaped with rough blankets. There were smaller shelf-like holes by each one, which were occupied by scrolls.

Daniel and Lieam dove into their blankets and pretended to be asleep. Tobias and Gwendolyn each grabbed a scroll and looked studious. Ivan sat on his bed and glared at the tunnel.

Beyal was left wondering who this "Saxon" was. They had mentioned him earlier…

Then he heard heavy footsteps coming from the tunnel. Curious, he looked up—and gasped in complete shock. A dark-red _dragon_ stuck his head out of the tunnel, tongue flicking out in what he suspected was an irritated manner when he saw Ivan's glare.

The dragon had pale-white plates lining his underside, and matching scales layering the top of his snout. White horns curved around backwards on his head, so that they ended in sharp-looking points facing the direction he was, below his jaw. Sharp-looking black claws clutched the edge of the tunnel path. The dragon's eyes were an unearthly shade of turquoise.

"Who's the runt supposed to be?" Ivan asked, gesturing with his head at Beyal.

The dragon spoke in a rumbling, hissing tone. "Beyal there has a chance of replacing one of you."

"Replace?" Daniel repeated alertly, sitting up and dropping the sleeping act. "You can do that?" He pointed at Gwendolyn, adding, "Can he replace her?"

"Do it," Lieam said immediately, also sitting up. "I vote yes. Cloudy looks quiet."

"Can I be the one who shoves her off a cliff?" Ivan asked.

"Oh, really funny guys," Gwendolyn muttered.

Beyal frowned at the sight. Daniel looked at the monk. "Please don't tell me you have annoying visions all the time too," he said warily.

The dragon—Saxon—spoke up before Beyal could answer. "You may _all_ be 'replaced,'" he growled, toning the last word as if it was a bad taste in his mouth.

The white-haired teen's confusion was doubling by the moment. _Replaced—for what?_

Saxon snorted smoke. "I was only sent to see if _he _was awake," he grunted, jabbing a talon towards Beyal. "I have to go check on our other guest now. _No fighting_, got it?" He turned around and vanished out of sight.

Turning to Gwendolyn, Beyal asked, "What was he talking about?"

"I'm not really sure," she replied. "None of us are. This is the first time he's mentioned one of us getting _replaced_, though—and there's no way that'd work, 'cause we were raised together—we're loyal to each other! The others would definitely fight back if they tried replacing one of us!"

_It certainly does not seem that way,_ the controller thought. When he tried taking out Mysticblade's core—try and find the others—he found that all three of his Monsunos were gone.

Gwendolyn went on. "I think it has to do with the Prophecy me and the others are part of."

"Prophecy?" Beyal echoed, a cold feeling sweeping over him.

"Yeah." The girl grinned widely. "It's called the Prophecy of the Five."

* * *

**The thing with Jinjin apparently having the Monsuno Sight is true. Saw so in episode 52...in Japanese, of course. ~Myra  
**


	4. Chapter IV

**I've said it before, and I'll say it again. the only way for me to know if people are even looking at my things is if I'm getting any sort of feedback. If it dries up totally ****_again_****, I'll be leaving this site for good. Got it? ~Myra  
**

* * *

Chase wasn't sure what to think of Pyrerre. The city had walls of concrete around it, and everything was coated in a fine layer of ashes—no duh, as there was a volcano only about a half-mile away, which also resulted in the air stinking of sulfur. Dimly-glowing rivers of lava were streaks of light on the ground in the distance.

The city's makeup was really just buildings carved into hunks of volcanic rock. The city was occupied by more dragon-people like Elwyn…as well as actual _dragons_, the largest of which he saw being slightly bigger than Boost for a size comparison. "Tense," he muttered, eyes wide.

"It's not much compared to the other cities," Elwyn said. "It doesn't help that part of it was destroyed during the last eruption…"

"Seriously?"

She nodded. "About eleven years ago—don't worry; the volcanoes aren't scheduled to erupt again for another three years."

"That's nice to know." The raven-haired teen glanced at the sky to get a check on what time it was—but all he could see were thick clouds and occasional flashes of lightning. "Hey, uh, Elwyn? What time is it?"

"Eight in the morning, about. Why don't we go and try to get something to eat?"

"Yeah. That sounds like a plan."

* * *

He quickly learned what Elwyn meant by "try to."

"I'm sorry, but this is all I'm able to give you," the dragon apparently in charge of the food said. "We haven't even been catching much fish lately."

"I understand," Elwyn said with a sigh, taking the bread and fish. "Thank you."

Once at a table, Chase asked, "Are you guys running out of food or something?"

"Unfortunately," she replied, cutting the fish with a small knife she had seemingly pulled from nowhere. "There's a forest on the other side of the city's wall, but there aren't many animals left—only birds, really. And the fish seem to be vanishing now…"

Something came to mind. "Elwyn? Was anyone else brought here with me?"

The dragon paused mid-bite. She was silent for a few moments before replying "No."

His face fell. Was Beyal really here as well?

She noticed, and asked, "How about I introduce you to someone—a friend of mine?"

"I guess…?"

* * *

Beyal sat on a lump of hardened lava, staring out at the ocean. Daniel, Tobias, Lieam, Gwendolyn, and Ivan—the five in the prophecy? It didn't add up! And it didn't help that his throat was starting to feel raw—although something told him he'd have to get used to it.

The scrolls said the precise times of birth for the Five, even—something that would ensure that there would only be a faint chance of a coincidence.

"He's been sitting there for a long time," Daniel whispered.

"Is something wrong with him or something?" Lieam asked in an equal tone.

"Maybe Gwen_dork_yn knocked him unconscious with all her yapping," Ivan sniped.

Beyal jumped slightly when someone tapped him on the shoulder—it was Gwendolyn, who had ignored the tall boy's comment. "Is something wrong?" she asked, a look of genuine worry in her crystal-blue eyes.

He thought for a moment, and then, in a low tone, said, "It's just that…my friends and I—we are the ones in the Prophecy." Gwendolyn frowned a bit, and he added, "Although I—suppose we are expendable, if you are to replace us."

The girl looked as if she was about to say something, but when she glanced up slightly, she instead exclaimed "Osric!" Beyal followed her gaze, and saw a small dragon with a brown leather bag tied around his neck hop down from the tunnel. He had mustard-yellow scales and dark-blue plates and horns. "You won't believe this," Gwendolyn went on. "Beyal's all special and chosen too! How can we all be in the Prophecy if there's six of us?"

"Well," the dragon started awkwardly. "The Council wants us to choose one of you, which is why Saxon went and got Beyal."

"Shouldn't they know already, though?" Gwendolyn pressed.

"I never know what those old scalebags are thinking," Osric replied. "I only came to bring you all breakfast…it's not that much." He took out a few containers from his bag, which contained what looked like toasted bread before jumping back up into the tunnel.

It really wasn't that much at all—Beyal was done in a minute. He looked across the clearing at the lone tree, went over, and climbed to the top branch. Across the rough, broken, lava-crossed landscape, he could see a small mountain with smoke pouring out of it. Beyond it and another small mountain that was also spewing smoke was a much larger mountain—the central volcano. Smoke and haze blurred most things beyond that point, although he though the saw what looked like two large birds circling like buzzards—dragons.

Either they were on a peninsula, or it was an island. _It seems more like the latter,_ he thought with dismay, looking across what appeared to be a bay. He also saw one other volcano.

Gwendolyn and Tobias climbed up as well. "See that mess on the closer side of the central volcano?" the latter asked.

There was indeed a mass of what seemed to be black rock bubbles on the volcano's side. "What is it?" he asked, curious.

"It's what's left of the old fortress," Gwendolyn said. "It got covered in lava when the volcanoes all erupted eleven years ago—and that's where everyone's treasure was kept. They actually had to blast tunnels into the lava to get it all out. I was only three when it happened, so I only know what Elwyn's told us." She paused. "Before you ask, Elwyn's the third dragon that takes care of us. We don't see her too often, 'cause she's busy in Pyrerre."

"Pyrerre?" he repeated.

"The city. It's _way_ over there," Tobias explained, pointing across the bay. "You can't see it from here, though. We've never been to it, either. Heck, we've never even been out of this dinky clearing here."

Beyal blinked, staring at the ruined fortress. "Wait. You said 'old fortress.' Is there another?"

"Yeah. On the other side of the mountain. Doesn't look like anything, since it's carved right into the mountain, though."

The white-haired teen's eyes went narrow. He knew Chase was on this island somewhere…perhaps in Pyrerre. But how would he be able to get from where he was…all the way over there?

* * *

Elwyn had said it was too dangerous to walk. So instead she was in her full-dragon form, and he was clinging on for dear life.

It didn't stop him from looking around, though. Below them was a landscape of rocks like lumpy scales with a fiery orange glow underneath, filling in the cracks.

The air was choked with smoke, and his throat was starting to feel seriously dry. Far overhead, he could see two dragons circling—could they see the mainland? How far was the island from the mainland, anyway? Or from any other islands? He flinched a bit when Elwyn suddenly folded her wings, and dove into a tunnel in the side of the huge mass of rock jutting out from the side of the central volcano.

The tunnel was wide enough for two Monsunos to stand side-by-side, and was lit by more of the strange glowing color-changing patterns. Elwyn let him slide down before her whole form glowed bluish-purple, and when it cleared, he was surprised to see her looking like a normal person. She took note of his expression, and said, "I bet you weren't expecting me to be capable of looking like a regular human, were you?"

"Uh…no," he said truthfully.

She smiled. "Come on. We need to go this way." They came around a bend in the tunnel, pausing in front of a door that read "**Labs**."

The door swung open suddenly to reveal a huge room, more brightly lit than the hallway with the patterns staying white, and vacant of the ever-present layer of ashes, cinders, and dust in general. They were on a balcony of sorts; one level above them, and one below, crisscrossed with a network of glowing pipes of different colors.

"Elwyn!" a girl's voice exclaimed, and Chase jumped a bit when a girl who looked about seven dropped in front of them. Clearly she was a dragon-person as well—she had forest-green hair and scales to match, and her wings had webbing of a pale-rose color. She was wearing a sea-blue dress of sorts. Her eyes were the same unnatural turquoise as Elwyn's and every other dragon-person he'd seen so far.

"Hello Apis," Elwyn greeted.

"Apis" stared at Chase before asking "Who's he?" Upon Elwyn's look, he introduced himself. "Oh. But I've never seen you before, and I know everyone in the city!"

"Apis," a male voice started from the level above. "Who in the name of Diankaia are you talking to?" A whip-thin dragon with scales matching Apis's perfectly looked down at them. He had about five sets of horns sticking off of his head, four of them being smaller and looking more like defensive spikes—the main pair curled downwards. They were a pale navy-blue, as were the scales on his underside. The webbing of his wings was a tan color, as were the fins on his tail. "Ah, Elwyn, what a pleasant surprise!" he exclaimed, gliding down. "And—oh, who is this?"

"Chase," Apis replied.

The dragon bent his head to look at the teen closely. He edged backwards a bit, swallowing. "A very interesting shade of teal for your eyes there son," he noted. "Never seen one like that before—even then, eye-colors other than turquoise are extremely rare among us dragons and—"

Elwyn interrupted. "Chase is only part dragon, Aquilus. He's human."

"Part…?" Aquilus gasped, and then launched into a flurry of questions. "Which region of the mainland are you from—what is the climate of it? What are your parents like?"  
"Uh, Auror Province—it gets really cold in the wintertime. My dad's a scientist," he answered, feeling awkward—also missing what Elwyn had said about him. But only until that moment. "Wait, _part what_?"

"You're part dragon, you know," she said. "I can tell just by being near you."

"But…I don't…"

"Haven't you ever noticed how your blood was a different color than others?" she asked.

"Well—yeah…" That was one quirk Chase never really understood. When he had first asked his father about it, Jeredy told him that it was a genetic fluke they shared.

"Not a fluke," Aquilus piped. "All dragons have copper-colored blood—so does anyone with any amount of dragon blood." Chase nearly fell over backwards at the sudden information. _So…both me and dad…_

"Now!" the dragon scientist started. "I recall you saying that your father is a scientist as well. Would you happen to know anything about desalinization?"

"A bit—it's how seawater can be made drinkable, right?"

"Precisely," said Aquilus with a nod. "We only have one source of freshwater here on Crescent Island, and it's become rather contaminated with ash over the last few years, so I built that magnificent contraption there to provide safe, filtered water for everyone…" He went on, pointing at various blue-glowing pipes while explaining about the process.

In truth Chase was only listening to half of it. Only Bren and Jinja knew about the so-called "genetic fluke" and had been very put-off by it. _Boy is this gonna be something to tell dad…_

"Come, come," Aquilus said eagerly, motioning for them to come to a set of stairs going down. "I'll show you what else I'm working on."

He exchanged a look with Elwyn and Apis—the former looked resigned, while the latter was grinning widely. So they followed.

"Here is where my assistants and I perform all of our volcanology experiments," he said, striding between tables laden with cauldrons of lava and steaming holes dug right into the rock floor. "I'm testing for materials that can withstand eruptions, and working on scale models for barriers, and outlining possible implementation systems. I need all the help I can get, you know." He flicked his tail with the fins narrowed to a corner of the lab where tiny versions of the island had been constructed. Several of them were smoldering ruins. "Not going very well, as you can see!" He laughed a little in a nervous manner. "The Council isn't pleased about that. Of course, they all have their own individual ideas about where I should be focusing my attention, and it's driving me crazy. Now, up this way please."

"I wish I could stay Aquilus, but I have business I must attend to," Elwyn said, looking at a clock. "Council business, to be precise."

"Ah, very well. You don't want to keep them waiting."

She shifted to her dragon form and flew back out the entrance, while Chase and Apis followed the dragon up a steep set of stairs going to the upper floor. It was a large, flat area with multiple devices stationed against one wall—the opposing wall had several barred doors, like cells almost.

Upon seeing the teen's curious glance, Aquilus quickly said, "I'll get to those later. I have a few other questions for you that I really would like to know—"

A crashing sound from a fourth floor above—one that didn't have a set of stairs going up—interrupted him, and he looked straight up at it. "Excuse me one minute," he muttered before shouting "Celenawe you blockhead! What are you doing now?" and flying up to the fourth floor.

"Don't be surprised if my dad takes ten minutes," Apis said, making Chase jump a bit—he had nearly forgotten she was there. "Celenawe's really nice, but he's a _huge_ klutz."

_Like Martin,_ Chase thought, remembering the STORM lieutenant Jon had introduced him to. He looked at the barred doors again. "What's in there?" he asked.

The girl tipped her head to one side. "I don't know, actually. I've never looked—dad doesn't like me up here for some reason."

"Well, then let's look." Chase approached one of the doors and looked through. It was dark inside, so he couldn't really see much—but he could clearly see four figures in there. He suddenly had a very bad feeling about this.

The other cells were empty—except for the one on the end. Chase froze, mouth opening slightly in shock. He'd know that white coat anywhere.

The person inside seemed to sense she was being watched, as she turned her head slightly. Her amber eyes widened in surprise—which quickly turned to anger, and she attempted to stand—only to stagger and nearly fall over. _So this is where she's been…_

It was Charlemagne.


End file.
